no smoke without fire

no smoke without fire
Cf. PLAUTUS Curculio 53 flamma fumo est proxima, the flame is right next to the smoke; late 13th-cent. Fr. nul feu est sens fumee nefumee sens feu, no fire is without smoke, nor smoke without fire; c 1375 J. BARBOUR Bruce (EETS) IV. 81 And thair may no man fire sa covir, [Bot] low or reyk [flame or smoke] sall it discovir.

c 1422 T. HOCCLEVE Works (EETS) I. 134 Wher no fyr maad is may no smoke aryse.

1592 G. DELAMOTHE French Alphabet II. 39 No smoke without fire.

1655 T. FULLER Church Hist. Britain II. x. There was no Smoak but some Fire: either he was dishonest, or indiscreet.

1869 TROLLOPE He knew He was Right II. lii. He considered that..Emily Trevelyan had behaved badly. He constantly repeated..the old adage, that there was no smoke without fire.

1948 ‘M. INNES’ Night of Errors iv. ‘Chimneys!.. Who the deuce cares whether there’s smoke from every chimney in the house.’ ‘I do. No smoke without fire.’

2002 Times 8 July 8 ‘I’ve been found not guilty, but mud sticks. Some people will say: “There’s no smoke without fire.”’


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  • No Smoke Without Fire — Studio album by Wishbone Ash Released 1978 …   Wikipedia

  • no smoke without fire —    This idiom means that when people suspect something, there is normally a good reason for the suspicion, even if there is no concrete evidence.</p><p>( Where s there s smoke, there s fire is also used.)   (Dorking School Dictionary) …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • no smoke without fire — This idiom means that when people suspect something, there is normally a good reason for the suspicion, even if there is no concrete evidence.  ( Where s there s smoke, there s fire is also used.) …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • there's no smoke without fire — there’s no smoke without fire mainly spoken phrase used for saying that if something bad is being said about someone, or if something seems bad, then there is probably a good reason for it Look, he’s a nice guy, but there’s no smoke without fire …   Useful english dictionary

  • (there is) no smoke without fire — (there is) no smoke without ˈfire idiom (BrE) (NAmE where there s smoke, there s ˈfire) (saying) if sth bad is being said about sb/sth, it usually has some truth in it …   Useful english dictionary

  • there is no smoke without fire — ► there is no smoke without fire rumours usually have some basis in fact. Main Entry: ↑smoke …   English terms dictionary

  • There's no smoke without fire. — something that you say which means that if people are saying that someone has done something bad but no one knows whether it is true, it probably is true. He claims that they were just good friends and that they never slept together but there s… …   New idioms dictionary

  • there's no smoke without fire — mainly spoken used for saying that if something bad is being said about someone, or if something seems bad, then there is probably a good reason for it Look, he s a nice guy, but there s no smoke without fire …   English dictionary

  • there's no smoke without fire — there is always some factual basis for a rumour. → smoke …   English new terms dictionary

  • there is no smoke without fire — everything has a reason, everything has a source …   English contemporary dictionary

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